Is it all the Same?
by Anna Lane
Summary: Damon and Elena are going to Sunnydale to look for a missing Stefan based on a fictitious lead provided by none other than Damon himself. They then run into quite the pair and all hellmouth breaks loose, figuratively speaking. S.6-Buffy Buffy/Spike romantically, Damon/Elena Relationship is More Friendshipy than lovey
1. Wings

**A/N Okay, so this is something out of the blue I just thought of and I need something to get my mind off things at the moment, so it's just sort of a comfort story for me, and this always makes me feel better, so...so. I don't own the characters of Buffy or Vampire Diaries. The setting is, well, I can't really remember the plot of the VD books so well, but it's right when Stefan's left in a misguided attempt to protect Elena, only instead of writing Elena a note, Damon tells her the truth (sort of, not really). I think Damon was maybe infected with a Demon thing during the time when Stefan left, but we'll have none of that in my story. For the Buffy part of my first crossover, it's in season six, when she's still upset about the whole, hey I'm alive after being dead thing. Buffy doesn't come in until the second chapter. Sorry the note was so long.**

Damon grinned smugly as he lay across Stefan's bed in Mrs. Flower's boarding house. Any minute now...

Elena came bursting in out of breath. She held her tongue for shock about 3 seconds, but then got over it and an accusing expression wiped all traces of surprise away. "Where is he, Damon? I know you did something. The town is in chaos and I need his help."

"Me, Elena? I'm hurt." Damon's smug smile had never faltered.

Elena made a move to leave, but the computer caught her attention. Damon stood swiftly and moved in front of her. "Alright, you win, Elena. He went off to find some way to become human again." Damon smiled as if amused by a child's actions.

"Why would he-" Elena broke off. "He is so stupid! I love him! I don't care if he's a vampire! I tell him time and again-"

"Yes, Stefan really doesn't know a good thing when he has it." Damon said, softly staring into her eyes. His hand moved up, but Elena backed away.

"Yes, he does. And so do I." Elena looked sad a moment. "Do you know where he is?" Damon looked down. For some reason he was finding it hard to look into her big blue eyes and lie today.

Elena's hand was the one that reached out this time and he let her lay it on his cheek. He met her eyes. "I don't know for sure."

Elena let out a breath. "I believe you." She really shouldn't, Damon thought as he clenched his teeth. He had a pretty good idea where Stefan really was, but he wasn't decided on how much he should tell Elena. "Do you have any ideas?" She looked at him intently.

"I think he went to California." Wow, he was a bit surprised he settled for an outright lie. He wasn't sure he had it in him. Damn it! Why did she have to trust him so much? It was her own fault if she believed him! Didn't she get that he wanted her? They went together like peas-and-fucking-carrots for chrissakes! Damn Stefan, Damon didn't care a lick if he got hurt. Besides, it's not like it was an outright lie, Damon was sure Stefan had gone to California at least once. How could you live an immortal life and have never been to Hollywood or L.A.? Damon himself had been there a couple of times. Not too bad a place, if you went to the right clubs.

As he'd been thinking Elena had been asking questions. He hadn't meant to tune her out, but only came back when she pushed lightly on his shoulder. Well, it could have been a punch she used all her strength on, but he wouldn't have noticed. She was like a butterfly compared to him. He smiled at her, thinking the frown she wore only made her more gorgeous. A beautiful butterfly.

"Damon!" She yelled, exasperated. A sexy, cute butterfly. Only, without the scales, and antennae. She did have wings sometimes. That was something.

"What city? California is kind of a broad specification! We need to find Stefan. I have a bad feeling that he may be hurt." Not a butterfly, an annoying human. With wings. They didn't even come out all that much anyway. "You can't just stand around smiling! This is serious!"

Had he been smiling? He frowned at her. "It's your fault."

"What?" Elena shook her head. "Look, I don't care. We need to get going. This is the last time I'm going to ask, otherwise I will just scour the whole of California myself. Where is Stefan, Damon?" She bit her lip.

"I said I don't know." When she turned away to leave, he quickly added, "But I do know a place in California that's chaotic and full of...energy, just like it is here, now. Only, it's like that all the time. If there ever were a way to reverse the vampire state of life, it could probably be found there." Damon shook his head at himself. He might have been ashamed, but he was too excited for the upcoming goose chase with Elena. He didn't want to lie to her, but what other way was there to be with her? Guilt for a moment...ahh it's gone now, Damon smiled again at Elena. He meant it to be comforting, but she bit her lip again. Damn, that made him want to do it for her. He cleared his mind of his thoughts and tried to focus on her words.

"You say it's like how it is here right now, all of the time?" Now she was biting her cheeks.

"Look, I'd never let anything hurt you. Besides, all that is where we're going are lesser beings." He reached out again, but she pulled away. Elena didn't know what the hell that meant, but she wasn't in the mood to grill him. Maybe it was some crack about movie stars and famous people. She didn't care much, either. She was more than a little peeved her first time to Hollywood wouldn't be with Stefan on some sort of impromptu, eccentric and exotic date where they'd picnic on that big hill with the Hollywood sign and Stefan would introduce her to all his actor friends. Maybe that was an unrealistic dream, but Elena allowed herself it to comfort her until she got Stefan back. Which wasn't going to happen until she got her ass moving. And Damon's for that matter.

"I'll go get the car." And then she was out the door.

He followed. "We should probably take my car. It gets better gas mileage." He was really excited now. What could be better than a road trip with Elena in his shiny red convertible?

"I really don't think it matters." Elena's forehead crinkled.

"Okay, pollute the Earth, throw money down the drain, see if I care." Damon said pleasantly.  
"I've got Stefan's credit card. And since when do you care about the earth? Or money, for that matter? You just take what you want." Elena continued on to her truck.

"Ooh, you stole his credit card. Delicious. I love how your mind works. I wonder what else we can buy..."

"I didn't steal it, he gave it to me for emergencies and..." Elena blushed. No way she was going to say that Stefan had told her to get anything that she liked, even if it was a new car. It didn't make her feel like a bought woman, they were in love. But she didn't want to hear Damon crack a joke.

"Fine, we'll take yours. It has a bigger back seat, right?" He grinned when she shot him a glare.

"It wouldn't matter if it did Damon, we won't be using it." Elena said stiffly.

"I know you're determined to save him, but everyone's got to sleep sometime." He gave her a seductive look.

Elena was really confused. "What? Just...just get. In. The car. Okay?" She took a deep breath and opened her door. He smiled and complied. Why should he complain? Elena was fun even when she was hating.

After a mile, Damon coughed and looked at Elena like she was stupid. "What?" She questioned sharply.

"Well, not that I mind, but you're sort of going the wrong way." He grinned.

Elena was torn between looking pissed and temperate. Temperate won out. "No, I'm not." She said gently and gave him a small smile.

"Elena, California is to the west. You are going east." Damon said with fraudulent sweetness.

"Damon, the airport is to the east, not the west." Elena said just as sweetly.

"Airport?" He exclaimed, an angry expression clouding his face.

"You didn't think we were driving?" Elena gave a laugh of disbelief. "Time is of the essence here! Stefan could be suffering! You honestly think I 'd waste all of that time?" Elena shook her silvery blonde mane and combed her hair with her fingers, keeping one hand on the wheel. "Do you have your ID?"

"No. I don't use it much." Damon bit out. "We can't go on a plane."

"So you do have one?" Elena sounded pleased.

"It won't do me a lot of good if I don't have it. And so we can't." Damon settled back in his seat as if that settled the argument.

"Just use your powers." Elena said and kept driving.

"I can't do it on so many people at once!" Damon grit his teeth.

"Careful, wouldn't want those fangs of yours to get dull." Elena sing-song voiced him. She hated it when Bonnie did it to her, and it gave her an odd pleasure to know she was annoying him.

"No, we wouldn't want that. How else would I bite you when you start screaming at me to?" Damon's heated gaze moved up and down over her body, lingering at certain points.

It was Elena's turn to get angry. "Just figure it out." She said coldly, even as she became more and more aware of the tight, swollen burning mass of flesh and blood that ached on her neck.

Damon had ended up disappearing before they'd even entered the airport. Elena was a little afraid he'd left her and she'd have to do this all alone in a place she didn't know. Looking for a place she didn't even know the name of. She was relieved, and yet more weirded out when she heard his voice in her head telling her which ticket to buy to which airport. She rolled her shoulders and did as he said. She shouldn't have been so uncomfortable. Elena had grown very relaxed being close to people, especially mentally, but Stefan gone for so long made her edgy. She needed him. He was her rock. He held her down when she floated. Literally. And it wasn't a creepy drowning-hold-down, either, it was a nice hold-my-hand-and-give-me-pleasure-and-love-hold-down. And now she was so worried she couldn't stop thinking about him.

It was easier not to worry when Damon talked to her, but now he wasn't even here. Well, he was there, but she couldn't sense him surrounded by so many people. It was getting harder for her to breathe. "Hey, it's okay." Damon's presence curled around her thoughts, calming her. It even made her body warmer. "I think I'm losing it." She whispered. The man next to her schooched away and she almost cried. She felt Damon's rumble around her directed at the man. "It's okay, it's almost time to board." Only Elena said it in her head this time, the last thing she needed was airport security all over her for suspicious behavior or something.

She felt him all around her as she walked onto the plane and got into her seat. She got a window seat and smiled. She always liked them. Damon sat beside her and Elena looked around to make sure none saw. "Relax. No one can see me but you." He smiled and buckled himself in and crossed his fingers.

"What about whoever sits here?" Elena asked, panicked.

"Like I said before, relax. I put it in the flight attendant's head that she had a crush on the guy who sits here, so she offered him one of the empty seats in first class."

"Can they do that?" Elena asked in a whisper.

Damon shrugged. "Seems like they would, doesn't it?" Elena wasn't sure how it seemed that way, but she didn't question his logic.

"I was wondering, how did you get on? You're supposed to be dead."

Elena felt herself blush for the second time. "Stefan..." Elena paused, "fixed it." and neither talked more of it.

As the pilot came on the speaker Damon's hands slid to the hand rests and his head leaned back. When the actual take off started, Damon was sweating and taking shallow breaths. That didn't happen often to a vampire.

Elena felt bad for him. "You don't like flying?"

"It is not...natural." He got out.

"Oh, and I suppose you're natural?" Elena smiled.

"Supernatural actually." He forced a laugh that quickly turned into a gag as the plane dipped a little.

"You fly all the time as a raven." Elena rubbed a hand over his hunched back.

"I have wings then."

"This has wings." Elena made a little gesture to the window.

Just then they hit a rough patch of turbulence. Elena made a noise of distress at seeing Damon so miserable. She stroked his hair from his face and lay her hands against it. She smiled into his face and after his depthless black eyes gazed into hers for a moment he closed them and leaned his head against her hands. "You make it better." he said simply. She was happy she could help at all, and it made her feel a little less guilty making him come on the plane in the first place.

"You better not puke on me." He gave a miserable laugh and leaned back against the seat.

Damon was better when the turbulence finally stopped. He still gripped Elena's hand tight, though. She had been talking to him soothingly the entire time and she hadn't stopped. She figured Damon probably couldn't keep up his illusion this sick, so she hadn't worried that people would think she was crazy. "It's almost over now. You know, I kind of liked the feeling the turbulence had, it reminded me of roller coasters." Elena laughed softly, stroking his hand. "next thing you know, you're going to tell me you don't like roller coasters."

Damon's head rolled to face her and he just looked at her. Elena's jaw dropped.


	2. So Much for the Afterglow

**A/N I don't own the setting or characters. The tittle on this chapter is actually the tittle of a song by Everclear, so props to them, I don't own that either. I just thought it was a cool tittle.**

Buffy moaned as spike slammed her against the wall. That was his favorite position, she decided, her up against a wall. He did it every chance he got. She pushed back and spun him around so he was against the wall and _she_ pressed against _him_. When she heard him groan and grip her arms tighter, she decided, with a little irritation, that Spike liked that, too.

She grabbed him by the loops of the black jeans that fit perfectly around his slim waist. She backed up and pulled him with her. His hips led the way and his body followed as he complied with her strong tugging arms. When they were far enough from any walls, Buffy pushed him down so he lay flat on his back on the cold concrete of his crypt. She straddled him. His brow creased and he half sat up, but Buffy pushed him back down. She wanted to find something he didn't like, and then she wanted to revel in his irritation as she took him that way.

Still pinning him down with one hand to the middle of his bare chest, she traced his pecs and abs with her free hand. Then she leaned over him to wrap her lips around the left column of his throat. She sucked gently and he tensed. She moved on to the softer, hollow point in the middle of his neck and bit down, just barely leaving the skin unbroken.

Spike growled, but Buffy shut him up with a demanding kiss. He tried to slip his tongue between her lips, but her own tongue wouldn't let him. It forced his tongue to try and work around it as it hopelessly continued trying to thrust it's way in. When she unexpectedly sucked his whole tongue into her mouth, he grabbed her hips and thrust up. She smiled and finally let him take control of the kiss.

His hands slipped under her shirt and caressed her back. She arched into him. He pulled the shirt up as he forced her jeans down. She helped with her shirt and then undid the button of his jeans. Spike yanked his pants just enough to get his cock out, but halted his surge into Buffy when he realized her jeans still sat too high on her hips. He couldn't spread her hips far enough to get inside her. She grinned as she loomed over him. Parting those plump lips purposefully in a naughty expression, she made him gasp as she rubbed the rough jean material across his swollen dick.

"Take them off." his voice was gravely and Buffy could hardly detect his accent. When she still only sat stubbornly, pinning him down, Spike ran his hands down her back to her bare butt and dug his fingers in. His fingers then continued down to the tops of her thighs, where the waistband of her jeans still rested.

In an instant, he had her on her back against the floor and her jeans down to just above her knees. His hand ran up the inside of her thigh and up to her mound. His thumb began to trace circles in just the right place and Buffy made small noises in the back of her throat as she rolled her hips up to him.

"Like that?" he asked and circled faster.

"Yes," she hissed out.

He stopped just before she came and pushed two fingers into her. He began pumping and Buffy rocked into him. When Spike started circling and pumping simultaneously, she tried to spread her legs to get him in deeper, but let out a frustrated sigh when her jeans resisted.

"Do you want them off now?" Spikes gaze bore down on her as he continued to thrust with his two fingers. He added another and Buffy let out a small scream. She nodded.

"Beg." Buffy's jaw locked and she arched against him a bit more. He thrust harder, but it wasn't enough.

"Please." she ground out and just like that, her pants were gone and a cool breeze shocked her.

The cool breeze was soon replaced with a warm tongue stroking at her entrance just once before Spike's strong hands gripped her thighs and pulled them even wider apart. He licked his way up her body, softly sucking and kissing her breasts on his way. When his head hung just above hers, he looked down at her, waiting. She knew what he wanted and looked up at him and pleaded with her eyes. Spike inched into her slowly. "Spike!" She gasped. He pulled out a little and slipped back in, holding her hips down when she tried to slam up into him.

"Magic word, love." Spike said as he flicked a nipple.

"Please." Her fingers dug into his shoulders.

"What?" he asked, face intense and body strained.

"Harder!" she begged, and when he didn't quicken his maddeningly slow pace, "Please. Spike, fuck me harder!" Only then did he let loose. His hips came down hard on her until their pelvic bones ground together. Buffy cried out.

He stopped moving in and out of her to tweak her clit. "Mmm." Buffy's hands went up and down Spikes back to urge him on. He continued to build up faster and harder as he drove into her again and again. She came and she couldn't control the way her entire body shook. He didn't give her time to recover, he just kept pumping into her as she pulsed and convulsed around him.

He positioned himself so that with every thrust he rubbed against her perfectly and she came again. That was all Spike needed and he grabbed Buffy's ass and pressed her to him as hard as could when he came.

A few minutes later, both still in the same position, Buffy couldn't help a little laugh and smile. "What?" Spike asked, smiling in return.

"I don't think I can walk." She admitted, rolling them over so she lay on top of him. Still smiling, she snuggled into his chest.

"Liar. You're just dying to go another round." He sat up and pulled her with him. "You're never satisfied, slayer. One of the many reasons you're a perfect bedmate. One of the many reasons I love-"

"Right. Well, I'd better go. Willow and Xander might come looking for me." Buffy scooted away form him and started the doomed search for her bra. She could never find her under garments after an evening with Spike.

"Whatever happened to, 'Oh, Spike, I'm sooo tired!'" he mocked in falsetto.

"I didn't say that!" Buffy's bottom lip stuck out. "And I _don't _sound like that."

"Whatever." Spike stretched back out with his hands behind his head and enjoyed the show she was giving him as she looked for her cloths, bending over and walking around, naked as she was. Finally she gave up and slipped on a crumpled red dress she had been wearing when he had found her at the Bronze a couple nights ago. The shirt and jeans she'd been wearing earlier were well and truly lost now. Then she was out the door.

Spike quickly pulled up his pants and followed. He wasn't sure why he even took the time to dress. Force of habit, he supposed, to at least cover a bit before going outside. It was a waste of time, though, he knew he wouldn't be needing cloths. At least he hadn't buttoned.

He found her walking towards the entrance to the cemetery. She should have been out of the cemetery by now, but she took the long way, through the trees. She'd wanted him to catch up. He ran the last few feet to her and grabbed her around the waist, swinging her around before setting her down and clamping his hand around the back of her neck to bring her close for a kiss.

Buffy jumped on him, hoping to catch him of guard and take control, but Spike held her weight easily. She wrapped her legs around him and kissed him vigorously. When she started pulling at his hair, he grabbed her waist and yanked her down so she was standing. He leaned her against the nearest tombstone and kissed her gently. He kneaded her breast and groped her ass. She felt him perfectly through only the thin, soft silk of her dress.

When she nipped his lip impatiently and hard enough to draw blood, his grip tightened and he growled. He flipped her so her stomach lay across the gravestone and legs were trapped by his. Hunched over the tombstone, she thought, talk about being trapped between a rock and a hard place! She tried to straighten her back, but Spike kept a hand on the back of her head and pushed her back down.

Buffy felt the hem of her dress slip up and his fingers slide against the insides of her upper thigh. He pulled her legs apart and held her so her ass angled up. She struggled just a little bit, but all thoughts of struggling slipped from her mind as he pushed his cock into her from behind. She never really wanted to, but she always ended up submitting to him. He felt too good, and he felt even better this way, gloriously big and strong.

Spike thrust harder and deeper. Buffy felt the rough cement of the headstone scrape against her bare thighs. The skin tore and the scent of blood filled the air. It excited Spike, and he shoved into her even harder. Now her lower stomach was getting cement burn too, but she could only feel the exquisite pleasure of Spike filling her again and again. His hands held her body in place at her waist, but every so often they would drift up to to squeeze or pinch her breasts. One did just that, while the other hand drifted lower to her clit. He only pressed his hand to her mound. The motion of him thrusting into her rocked him into his hand. It forced her body to slide up and down his hand as he slammed into her from the back. Buffy came like that, stomach against hard stone and riding his cock and his hand. Her knees gave out and she stifled a scream.

Spike held her up by her waist and continued slamming into her harder than ever. "Again," he ground out as he kissed the skin over her spine.

"Can't," Buffy panted.

"You will." he commanded harshly. He hoisted her ass up and spread her even further, never missing a beat. He sank deeper into her and she screamed. "Now." he demanded, slamming hard as he could and grinding. She cried out as her orgasm slowly went through her and seemed to drag on and on. Hearing her weak mews, Spike shouted and pumped twice more before his grip tightened painfully around her and she felt him come inside her.

Buffy was still hugging the gravestone minutes later. Spike had disengaged from her, but his body still weighed heavily on her, and she loved it. He turned her around and picked her up only to set her gently on the grass. His eyes looked into hers and shone with love. Buffy looked away, uncomfortable, but unfortunately, she really couldn't walk this time. His eyes drifted down lower and stopped at the blood smeared across her upper stomach and thighs. "I'm sorry."

Buffy could tell. The worried expression on his face as he examined her scrapes was laced with guilt and disgust. Buffy knew they'd be gone when she woke up tomorrow. "Don't be." Buffy met Spike's eyes when they moved back up to her face. "I loved it." she whispered. Spike looked away before she'd see the tears in his eyes. His head moved down to her stomach. His tongue made one sudden motion across her belly, just below her belly button. He looked up again, testing her reaction. When she didn't stop him or protest, he continued. He licked a small smear of blood and pressed his lips feather light to the same spot. Buffy lay back and closed her eyes and secretly loved the strange comfort Spike offered. Her hand found the soft curls of his hair and she stroked his head as he thoroughly cleaned all the blood from her stomach and thighs.

When he was done, he curled next to her and pulled her close. She almost fell asleep in the grass with him. She was tired and calm, and sleep sounded like the perfect idea. She allowed herself to drift, knowing Spike would keep her safe if she did fall asleep. Soon after that thought, cracking branches and crackling leaves could be heard nearby in the cemetery.

"Shit!" Buffy pushed Spike off her and stood up, smoothing her dress over her hips and running a hand through her hair. She glanced over at Spike and saw his pants weren't even past his knees yet. One male and one female voice could be heard now. She was about to tell Spike to hurry, but it was too late. Two figures stepped out from behind some trees and could be seen in the shadows. "Look, Xander, I can explain!"


	3. Darkness and Light

**Hey, this took forever to get around to. This was the whole point of the story, I just wanted Buffy and Elena to meet. Problem was, I took so much time getting them both to this point that I forgot exactly how I wanted the meeting to go in the first place. However, since I started it, I refused to not finish it, so I wrote the end anyway. And I think I like it just fine.**

"What about Sky-gliders?" Elena was still trying to wrap her head around Damon's phobia of heights.

He just rolled his eyes. "They're so low to the ground I could just jump off if I needed to."

"Well, you could just turn into a bird if the plane was about to crash." she pointed out. He grit his teeth. He ignored her and concentrated on the gate to the cemetery they'd walked to from Sunnydale Airport. It was really a small town, it hardly even _deserved_ an airport. She looked at him as he stared intently at the gate. Was he trying to unlock it? Elena gave him a look and pushed it open. He looked a little surprised and maybe even a little embarrassed. She walked past him into the cemetery and gasped. Dark power surrounded this place like mist. It made air hard to take in and her whole body started to sweat, while at the same time, it was so unnaturally cold for California that Elena got goosebumps.

"Tell me about this girl again." Elena rubbed her hands over her shoulders and wiped cool sweat off her neck.

"I don't know much, Elena, only the legend. One girl with supernatural abilities to hunt down the demons. Her specialty being the vampire demons, of course." He sounded like he was mocking it. Probably thinking no way a human girl could beat him.

"You're not a demon, Damon." Elena didn't know how she would ever get him to see that part of him she was sure was there.

He turned and stopped so that he looked down at her with sad eyes. "Only a letter's difference, Elena." Before she could get out the denial on the tip of her tongue, Damon turned back around and kept on talking. "These aren't vampires like me and Stefan, they are literally demons in a human skin that feed on blood. They are descendants of the 'old ones', various demons and demigods that had a multitude of powers and abilities. Then there's me, who is a descendant of a true vampire, not a demon who happens to have vampire-like qualities."

She shook her head. "That doesn't make sense."

"Sure it does, you've got the original human, the original vampire, the original demon, the original witch, etc., and we are all only descendants of them. The only thing is, when full demons and demigods roamed the Earth, they were so powerful they ruled it, they dominated every other race and it was pretty much just a huge bloodbath of fun for them, but as time passed, they got weaker and weaker until they could no longer control the other races, actually becoming a lesser race in the process, because the other races maintained the same level of power. There must be a minimum of how weak a lesser 'vamp' can get, because otherwise I'm sure they would have been wiped out long ago."

Elena stared at her feet as they walked, trying to understand. "And the girl that kills the demons, she is supposed to be here?" They had almost walked the entire length of the cemetery.

"Yes, but I must've made a mistake-" A scream sounded nearby. Damon held out his hand. Elena took it and together they jogged at human speed to where Elena assumed the scream came from.

It only took a couple minutes before Damon started walking cautiously through a patch of trees. "Why are we going slow? Someone could be hurt!" She asked, trailing after him.

"I know, and it could be the slayer's the one doing the hurting. Ssh." they came out of the trees and Elena nearly ran into him, because he'd come to a complete stop.

She peered over her shoulder.

"Look, Xander, I can explain!"

A pretty blonde girl with mussed hair and a wrinkled dress shouted desperately, but Elena couldn't really concentrate on that, she was too busy trying not to look at the blonde guy with his pants at his knees. Even so, she slipped up a bit and stared. He looked different that Stefan. The blonde girl noticed her wondering eyes and scowled. She shoved his jeans up to his waist so hard the blonde man gave out a grunt of pain. "Careful, love, we'll need that later." he said as he zipped them up.

Elena blushed and looked at Damon. He was grinning knowingly.

The blonde girl was patting herself all over her dress. "Shit, Spike, my stake's back at your place. Did you bring one?" She didn't look worried, just annoyed.

"No, Buffy, maybe if you hadn't skipped out so fast-"

"Shut up!" Buffy said. They didn't seem like the happiest couple. Maybe this Buffy was cheating on the aforementioned Xander with this Spike guy. She took a deep breath and put her hands up in a defensive fighting position. Damon and Elena just looked at her.

"I don't have all day!" Buffy seemed really exasperated. "Spike, you wanna help me here?"

"Help you what? They haven't even done anything yet." He leaned against a gravestone and stroked it, looking at Buffy with a secretive look. She blushed and looked away.

"Just like a lesser vamp!" Damon scoffed. "Honestly, Slayer, you're better off with the _real _ vampires." he gave her a suggestive look, and Elena wasn't the only one pissed.

"Oy!" An indignant Spike straightened and his face shifted into a wrinkly mess of hard skin as he took a step closer to Elena and Damon. Elena screamed. He smoothed out his face. "It's alright love, we're just gonna get rid of this ponce for you."

"She is not your love!" Damon growled and the veins under his eyes grew prominent.

"Ooh, we don't get many of your kind at the Hellmouth." Buffy sat on the steps to a nearby mausoleum.

"We tend to avoid places of Demon power, I'm sure you understand why." Buffy nodded at Damon's words.

"Cause you're too weak for us here." Spike smirked.

"I'll show you weak, boy." Damon and Spike lunged for each other at the same time.

"Great, a supernatural pissing contest." Buffy looked at her nails. "You wanna sit down next to me-"she trailed off.

"Elena." Elena sat next to her.

"Nice to meet ya. I'm Buffy." Elena mumbled a greeting in return. "So, you don't seem too surprised, I'm betting you knew about your boyfriend, right?" She shook her head.

"You don't approve?" Damon wasn't her boyfriend, but she _was_ involved with a vampire. Stefan. "Where do you get off-"

"Hey, you've seen where I get off, okay?" She held out her hands as if in surrender. "At least I know I shouldn't be with with him. Maybe it's different with your kind of vamp, but mostly I just don't think people that are so different should be together."

"Oh, like how black people and white people shouldn't be together?" Elena said sarcastically.

"No!" Buffy hastily defended herself. "No, those are just differences in looks, I mean more than that."

"Like how Jews shouldn't mix with Christians, then?" Elena knew she was being unfair.

"What? No! I-" Buffy was pretty flustered.

"I know, I know, I'm sorry. That was mean. Even if it was like that, I really have no right to judge, so I'm sorry. You just hit a sore spot right now." Elena blinked back tears.

"What do you mean?" Buffy put a hand on her shoulder.

"My boyfriend's missing." Buffy's eyes trailed to Damon and back to Elena like she was crazy. Spike seemed to be getting more hits in, but every once in a while Damon would use powers that Spike didn't have for an advantage, but they both recovered so quickly it was pretty evenly matched. Elena turned away as Damon took a particularly hard punch to his right eye.

"That's not my boyfriend. That's my boyfriend's brother. He went off to find a cure for vampirsm, because he wants to be human for me. But I love him for who he is!" A few tears did fall now.

"Geez, I do know how to put my foot in my mouth. I'm sorry. Where do you think he went?" Buffy looked concerned for her.

"You haven't seen him? We thought he came here." Elena cried harder.

Buffy patted her on the head and sat up. She walked over to the two vampires and grabbed a fistful of each of their cloths. Then she threw them apart. Spike just pouted as he got up, like his mom had taken away his favorite toy because he was being bad. When Damon stood he just looked stunned. He must have been surprised at that which Buffy seemed capable. So was Elena. Buffy smirked when she saw their faces.

Damon whistled. "What a woman."

"Tell me about it." Spike agreed. "She only got sexier when she came back from the dead." Elena's head shot up.

Damon's brows went up. "She's a vampire?"

"No." Buffy made a noise of disgust. Elena stared up at her in wonder. "What?" She asked, uncomfortable with Elena's gaze.

"It happened to you, too?" Elena grinned.

"You mean you..."

"died." Elena nodded enthusiastically and told her all about how she died. "What do you remember? All I can remember is how happy I was, how at peace."

Buffy let out a big breath and nearly collapsed on the steps. "Me too." Buffy was finding it hard to form words. She thought she was a freak, but now she'd found someone just like her. She took Elena's hand and squeezed it. She shed a tear as she shared her own story of her death, her sacrifice. "And the world-it-it just isn't the same."

"I know! I'm so grateful for every moment now, so happy I got a second chance to be with the people I love!" Buffy froze at Elena's words and her face went blank. She'd admit it, for a moment there, she thought she had found a friend, a person who had actually known what she was going through. She was wrong. She'd always be wrong now.

She pulled her hand away and stared blankly at her knees. Elena was confused. She was going to ask Buffy what was wrong when the boys caught her attention.

"Blondes are definitely sexier. I tried the whole 'brunette' thing. It didn't work out well, she was a total bitch." Spike said to Damon. They had been chatting like they were old friends, and about Buffy and Elena, it seemed.

"Redheads are nice, too." Damon added thoughtfully.

"Oh, yeah, I know this sweet little redheaded witch, you might not notice it at first, but she is a damn cute little morsel." Spike licked his lips.

"Hey, is her name Bonnie?" Damon asked, surprised. Spike shook his head. "It must just be coincidence, I know a redheaded witch, too."

"Bet mine's cuter." Spike said automatically.

"No way is yours cuter, mine even has freckles. I'd bet mine tastes better, too." Damon responded.

"Not bloody likely, I'll bet my witch's blood is way tastier with all the power she has."

Before their argument could turn into another physical brawl, Buffy stood up and walked between them. "I'm sorry, we can't help you. Let's go, Spike." Spike stood up eagerly. Elena had a feeling he'd follow Buffy into hell if he had to.

"Wait, Buffy, Damon said he came this way, is there anyone else we could talk to here?" Elena took a step toward the girl she was talking intimately with only moments ago, upset at this abrupt dismissal.

"Then he lied. This is _my _town, I would know." Her face had hardened and hid an undercurrent of anger. She turned away.

Elena looked at Damon, suspicion in her eyes. Damon avoided her eyes. "Go on, Slayer. Have another go at that pathetic excuse for a vampire. It won't make either one of you less of a monster." He turned back with a darkly pleased look to where they came from, but not before he got a glimpse of their faces. Elena saw the looks on their faces, too, but she also saw Spike lunging at Damon. She stepped in front of Damon's back, but Spike moved so fast she didn't have time to call out a warning.

Spike's fist slammed into Elena's cheek so hard she thought he had cracked her skull. She didn't remember falling, but she felt her hair thread through the grass as she tried to sit up. She saw only black for a few seconds, but her vision, as shaky as it was, returned in time for her to see Buffy pummeling Damon with punch after punch, even faster, it seemed, than Spike. She didn't give Damon time to recover and it wasn't long before Damon was laying on the grass next to her, blood pouring from his mouth.

"You bitch, what did you do to him?" Buffy looked really worried. She was kneeling next to spike on the grass. It looked like he was seizing, he was shaking so hard. Blood was pouring through his nose and ears and eyes.

"I knew-you-cared." He had to pause to cough up blood a few times, but Buffy knew what he said. She started breathing heavily and tears fell. She was this near laughing hysterically.

"Buffy, what..." Elena wasn't even sure what the question she should be asking was.

Buffy's head fell forward, whispering things to Spike and her hair covered her face. "Go" she said, loud enough for Elena to hear. "Go." She said again, louder.

"Buffy, I don't understand, what's wrong?" Elena moved closer, but stopped dead when Buffy's head flew up and she bared her teeth at Elena in an all-too-human snarl.

"Go now or I will rip out your beating heart. I don't know what you are, but I don't exactly care."

"Buffy..." Spike said weakly.

"Yes? Yes? Spike? Why did this happen? Your chip doesn't react this way to humans." Her hands stroked the sides of his face.

He looked a bit revived. "She is light where you are darkness, pet." He started to sit up, but lost consciousness and fell back down to the ground.

"Buffy, I'm sorry, I thought we-" Elena gulped and didn't bother to hide how hurt she was.

"What? You thought we had a bond? That we were the same? Please." She gave Elena a look that made her feel like Buffy was looming over her and looking down in disgust, even though Buffy was kneeling on the ground. "It isn't all the same, Elena. Now, leave." Buffy was almost choking on her anger. This girl came back better, and she came back wrong. Buffy should be used to how much the world sucked, no pun intended, by now, but it amazed her she could still feel that tight feeling in her bones. It had reared to the surface with Cordelia, and that jealous rage was even worse with Elena. This girl was probably the mirror image of herself. Popular, cute, blonde, and with a soft spot for the terminally fanged. Only, Elena's life was a piece of cake. Her lover was missing? At least she _had _love. Buffy had nothing real, not like Elena. Her feelings made control hard, but Buffy wasn't a stranger to difficult. She could control this. "I may not kill you, Elena, but I will kill Damon. What do I care if there's one less bloodsucker in the world? Last chance, leave." She let Elena see the hate in her eyes.

Elena backed up. She helped Damon to his feet, and they walked hastily towards the exit, leaving Buffy cradling Spike's face and cleaning up his blood with the hem of her dress.

They had reached the gate and had both simultaneously turned left, headed towards the airport. "Elena." Damon reached for her arm and she spun around, facing him.

He wasn't sure what shocked him more, her swelling pink cheekbone or the anger in the lines around her pretty blue eyes.

She spoke first. "It hurt." He looked at her cheek again. It hurt to move her mouth, it hurt to talk, but she swallowed the pain down. "It hurt, but _you_, your lies, you getting my hopes up, your betrayal, that all hurt a million times worse, Damon." She turned back on her heel and lead the rest of the way to the airport.

He silently followed her, wondering how it had turned out this way, how he had gotten her hurt, when he had just wanted to spend time with her, and protect her.


End file.
